#tbt

It’s crazy that the lake has yet to look like this in 2017!

It has been a warm winter!

The case for a Maryland fracking ban

Next week, on Feb. 28, the Health, Education and Environmental Affairs Committee in the Maryland Senate will take up legislation dealing with shale gas drilling (fracking). For public safety, economic and environmental reasons, we believe the technology should not be allowed in Maryland.

Nearly three out of four senators have indicated a willingness to extend the current fracking moratorium, set to expire in October. This suggests they recognize that gas drilling will not be the economic bonanza that supporters have claimed since 2011, when the mountains above Marcellus Shale deposits in Western Maryland were first targeted.

Two bills are pending. One bans fracking altogether, while the other extends the moratorium for two years — though it departs from the current moratorium by permitting fracking in counties that approve it by referendum. On the ban bill, 23 of the Senate’s 33 Democrats are co-sponsors; the moratorium bill has 24 co-sponsors, including several Republicans.

In the House of Delegates, leadership declared long ago that a frack-free Maryland was its preference. A ban bill is advancing, and there is no moratorium bill. After committee hearings, legislation may go to the floor of each chamber for further debate. If the House and Senate don’t pass the same bill, some sort of compromise is required before any legislation can be approved and sent to the governor for his consideration.

About three-fourths of Marylanders already live in a place where local elected officials have created anti-fracking laws or resolutions. But fracking is regulated by the state. So, for those who’ve worked for six legislative sessions on the issue, the “heavy lift” is in the Maryland Senate.

Unlike neighboring Pennsylvania and West Virginia, Maryland did not rush into fracking. Successive administrations studied the technology, then overhauled outdated regulations. Meanwhile, energy prices continued to fall. The industry allowed nearly all of its original sub-surface mineral leases purchased last decade to lapse.

Furthermore, Maryland lacks the large-scale deposits, pipeline and processing infrastructure, and interest from industry (in the form of leased mineral rights) needed to make large-scale fracking financially feasible today. Yet we can’t rule out a change of circumstances that drives up fossil fuel prices — setting set off a new round of leasing that leads to fracking in years ahead.

Meanwhile, mounting problems elsewhere show the technology cannot be effectively regulated. In Pennsylvania recently, investigators from Public Herald, an investigative journalism nonprofit, dug up previously undisclosed citizen complaints about water contamination from fracking. Their work took years. Far from regulators’ 280-odd citations against industry, Public Herald found some 4,100 complaint filings — all told, one official complaint for nearly every well drilled. There’s more. It appears that the vast majority were never investigated. Then unresolved original complaints were shredded. Hundreds of state law violations were documented, and Flint, Mich.-style government criminality is a possibility.

In recent weeks in Western Maryland, many residents were infuriated by the Senate president’s public remarks that “there are no jobs whatsoever” in that part of the state. In fact, the unemployment rate in Western Maryland in 2016 was almost identical to the state average, and lower than some counties. Long gone are the days that Mountain Maryland depended overly on extractive energy and assembly line work.

Tourism and vacation real estate provide about half of all jobs and two-thirds of Garrett County’s tax base. Some of the highest-value rural real estate in the eastern United States lines the shores of Deep Creek Lake — second only to Ocean City as a vacation destination for Marylanders. Generations have visited and created the magical memories that many families cherish forever.

To state the obvious, nowhere in the world do fracking and world-class tourism mix. That’s why in Florida right now, with Republicans in charge, the legislature is considering a fracking ban. Florida’s economy is Deep Creek’s, writ large.

Additionally, fracking is “anti-business”: While a few short-term jobs may be created, most Western Marylanders — like others in a state where the solar industry grew 40 percent in 2015 — prefer small-business ownership, with sustainable economic investments in tourism, agriculture and green energy.

Mountainside solar installations are burgeoning. Indeed, Western Marylanders want the same future as the rest of the state. Most polls show that a strong majority of Garrett and Allegany county residents want the fracking ban that Marylanders as a whole support.

Is this another “jobs versus environment” debate? Not at all. Nationally, less than 10 percent of jobs on a well-pad are unionized. Along with embalmers and theater projectionists, zero petroleum engineers belong to unions.

The Laborers International Union recently came out in support of fracking and staged a rally in Annapolis. In a union with a proud tradition of training workers in emerging industries, wouldn’t organizing solar-industry installers sustain and grow its membership?

Finally, there’s the matter of fracking’s effect on global climate change. Farmers statewide are already feeling the effects of erratic precipitation, unpredictable freezes and bigger storms. This year, the annual “Winterfest” festival in Oakland, Md. (the state’s “snowiest” town) was postponed due to spring-like weather.

Scientists agree that fossil fuel combustion is driving planetary warming. And new scientific analysis confirms that fracked gas is nearly as bad as coal for the atmosphere. That’s because, before it is burned at distant power plants or on your stovetop, natural gas (mostly methane) is constantly leaking from wellheads, pipelines and compressor stations. Estimates of leakage vary from about 2 percent of production to more than 10 percent. Overall, carbon dioxide is a more potent greenhouse gas, but in the short-term — measured in 20-year periods —methane is orders of magnitude more detrimental. So the life-cycle warming impact of gas rivals coal. To save our climate, we have to steadily move off of gas, not increase its use through reckless fracking.

For Maryland’s economy, health and environment, we need to ban fracking once and for all. This drilling method will never be safe. We have all of the data we need on that. Now we just need the political will of our leaders in Annapolis to finally do the right thing.

For more information, click here.

Winter Fest- this weekend!

Due to the high temperatures we are to have the original weekend of Feb 18 – 19, Winter Fest (sculptures and vendors/crafters) have been rescheduled for February 25 & 26.

Join us in downtown Oakland for Winter Fest 2017! Master Carver Bill Sandusky will be joining us when we line the streets with over 30 ice sculptures and witness some of them LIVE! In addition, we will have a Indoor Market Place for food and craft vendors at 221 S. Third Street.  There will be a book signing with David Craig-”Greetings from Gettysburg”.  Held at Oakland B&O Museum. It is a history of the battlefield being created as a national park. Saturday from 10am-4pm.  There will be sleigh rides, great shopping and dining specials too!

UPDATE-

So everyone…here is the deal. Temperatures Saturday are to be in the 60’s. We are keeping everything on Saturday including the book signing, crafters, carriage rides, etc. The Deep Creek Dunk is also Saturday. 

Sunday the temperatures are to be in the mid thirties with snow! The sculptures will not go out until Sunday morning. The live carvings will also be done on Sunday. This way the carvings will last at least 24 hours and the live carvings can still be done. If we put them out on Saturday, they would only last a couple of hours and we could not do the live carvings.

This is the schedule no matter what happens weather wise! I honestly believe this is the best option in such a difficult situation. I encourage all businesses to be open on Sunday as I feel we will still get numerous visitors.

Please spread the word as much as possible. Thank you all or your patience and understanding. 

For more information, click here.

Deep Creek Lake & Garrett County, Maryland Offer Military March Promotion

The Deep Creek Lake area and Garrett County, Maryland salute our nation’s heroes with a Military March promotion. The Garrett County Chamber of Commerce is offering discounts for military members on their website, www.visitdeepcreek.com. The promotion, which is sponsored by GCC Technologies, LLC,  runs from March 1 – March 31, 2017, non-holidays.

Twenty-three businesses are participating in the promotion offering military discounts on dining, shopping, lodging, groceries, design work, clothing, glassware, car purchases, oil changes, hot tubs,  lift tickets, rentals, lessons and snow tubing.

“The Military March promotion is a terrific way for military members and their families to save on a trip to the Deep Creek Lake area and Garrett County,” said Sarah Duck, Director of Tourism & Marketing for the Garrett County Chamber of Commerce. “We are proud to honor our nation’s heroes with discounts from a wide variety of our area’s businesses.”

The Military March Promotion includes offers from Bear Creek Traders, Cabin on Farm View Rental Home, CurlyRed Inc., Deep Creek Beverage, Deep Creek Shop ‘n Save Fresh Featuring Mountain Flour Bakery, Haley Farm Inn & Retreat Center, Joyce’s Deep Creek Rentals and Trips, Lake Pointe Inn, Ledo Pizza, Pasta & Pub, Long Branch Saloon & Motel, McHenry Beverage Shoppe, Perkins Restaurant & Bakery, Railey Mountain Lake Vacations, Rudy’s Clothing, Savage River Lodge, Simon Pearce Factory Outlet and Glassblowing, Suites at Silver Tree, Taylor-Made Deep Creek Vacations, Team One Chevrolet Buick GMC, The Hot Tub Store, Uno Chicago Grill Deep Creek, Will O’the Wisp Resort and Wisp Resort.

To redeem the offers, military members simply need to show a valid military ID when purchasing. Blackout dates and other restrictions may apply; please see specific details and restrictions for each offer at https://www.visitdeepcreek.com/pages/MilitaryMarch2017.

To view all of the military March offers or for more information about Garrett County, please stop by www.visitdeepcreek.com or call 888.387.5237.

for more information, click here.

NEW LISTING- 2372 Mayhew Inn Road

Check out my listing on Mayhew Inn Road!

4BR/3BA lake area home on 2 wooded/private acres! Features tongue & groove ceilings, hardwood floors, exposed beams, Avonite countertops, eat-in kitchen w/ plenty of storage and cabinet space.

HUGE master suite with custom tile shower + oversized closet & washer/dryer. 2nd stackable unit upstairs! Paved driveway. Stamped patio. Heated garage with storage area + outdoor shed.

Must see!

For more information, click here.

GRMC OPENS NEW URGENT CARE FACILITY IN GRANTSVILLE

Representatives from Garrett Regional Medical Center and local dignitaries joined forces to cut the ribbon for the newest expansion of GCMC, a brand new primary and urgent care facility in Grantsville.

The lobby of Medical Associates of Grantsville was full of colleagues, staff, and community members from Grantsville and surrounding areas who gathered to celebrate the opening of the new and much needed facility.  Guests were able to tour the 5,500 square foot, state of the art office while the staff was on hand to answer questions.  The new center houses three exam rooms for primary care, four rooms for urgent care, a space for laboratory services, three procedure rooms, and a radiology area. The facility was designed with efficiency and patient comfort and accessibility, in mind.

County Commissioner Paul Edwards said, “I am very excited for Garrett Regional Medical Center to expand into Grantsville.  The services that this opens up to residents on the northern end of the county and the health care infrastructure that this helps build is a huge benefit to quality of life, as well as economic development in the area.”

“I have lived in Grantsville my entire life and this is my community.  I’m happy for the opportunity to provide healthcare in a time of need and empower my patients and neighbors to be healthy,” said Tammy Crayton, who will be leading the urgent care practice.

GRMC will also be hosting an open house for the public to showcase the new Medical Associates of Grantsville Urgent Care facility on Tuesday, February 14^th.  Guests are welcome from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m.

This event offers an opportunity for local residents to come and see what the facility has to offer, meet the staff, and ask any questions they may have.  There will be staff on hand to provide services and educational material on important health issues.  Services include free screenings for blood pressure, osteoporosis, sugar levels and facial skin analysis.

The urgent care center and radiology services will be open Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday 12 p.m. to 5 p.m.  The primary care facility will be open Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.  Laboratory services will be open Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m.

for more information, click here.

NEW LISTING- 1041 Rock Lodge Road

Check out my new listing on Rock Lodge Road!

4BR/3BA renovated cottage (2009) with ~1200sf addition on coveted Rock Lodge Rd. Gutted to studs & rebuilt with extra insulation. Original fireplace! Very well maintained.

Covered porch offers seasonal lake views. Rear deck backs to woods & surrounded by huge, moss covered boulders.

Low maintenance yard. 2 furnaces; energy efficient design. Vaulted ceilings. Paved driveway with plenty of parking.

for more information, click here.

Jump on in, the water's fine! I'll wait here

funny opinion article from the frederick news-post.

Most people have likely witnessed that the world in which we live has a substantial number of people with questionable judgment — at least I think their judgment needs some work. What brings this to mind is that I’ve discovered that I volunteer for an organization that supports activities for these very people. I’m new to the organization since June 2016 and am still discovering the ins and outs.

The allure of joining this organization was the good works that it does around Maryland for both people and wildlife. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that it supports large numbers of manic individuals.

In reading the schedule of upcoming activities, I’ve discovered that this organization supports and is involved with the Polar Bear Plunge at Sandy Point State Park. There are more. On Feb. 25, there’s a Freezin’ for a Reason dunk up at Deep Creek Lake. On March 4, at Rocky Gap State Park they have something they call the Hooley Plunge. Maybe “hooley” is another word for “out of your mind.”

Don’t get me wrong. I’m fully aware that these events are held for good and charitable reasons. Supporting charities is an admirable effort. Jumping into water that’s less than 50 degrees Fahrenheit is a totally different story. Rightfully or wrongfully, I consider such activity a potentially heart-stopping event.

It’s not that I haven’t had the experience. I know whereof I speak. A “few years ago,” when I was in high school, I found myself in a small boat about 50 yards off a rocky coast in 30 feet of water near Gloucester, Mass. (I still say “Mass.” because virtually my whole family and myself were born there — it’s a local thing). Gloucester is north of Cape Cod — that means cold, cold water. The Cape pushes the Gulf Stream far from shore. Young, bullet-proof teenager that I was, I decided to dive in prior to donning a wet suit; big mistake. I hit the water, surfaced and tried to breathe. Wow! I could take in only “little sips” of air. My breath was literally taken away, and I wondered if I could make it back to the boat. My point? I know what cold water feels like and need no reminders. Don’t like it!

Almost as bad are those who a year or so ago engaged in a fad of challenging others to dump buckets of ice water over their heads. All right, that’s not as bad as total immersion, but what’s the point? I’ve dealt with a fairly significant number of discomforts in my life — my time in the Army comes to mind. I’ve never been one to go out of my way to voluntarily seek discomfort.

So, for you crazed plungers out there who find such activities to be fun and exhilarating, knock yourselves out. Please don’t take that literally. While the Polar Bear Plunge at Sandy Point on Jan. 28 has already happened, two that don’t get so much attention are Feb. 25 at Deep Creek and March 4 at Rocky Gap. Begrudgingly, I’ll admit that they’re all for good causes. For myself, it’s much more comfortable to offer support from shore or just write a check.

for more information, click here.

Public weighs in on Route 219 improvement project

GRANTSVILLE, Md. – Maryland transportation officials listened to the public’s opinions on the U.S. Route 219 Improvement Project at a joint public hearing Monday night at Grantsville Elementary School.

Three possible options were discussed Monday night – all involving the improvement of Route 219 between its interchange with Interstate 68 in Grantsville and Old Salisbury Road, which is approximately 1.4 miles north of the I-68/Route 219 interchange.

That 1.4-mile stretch of two-lane road, which includes an intersection with U.S. Route 40 Alternate, represents approximately half the total length of Route 219 between its interchange with I-68 and the Maryland-Pennsylvania border, according to maps shown at Monday’s hearing.

“It’s an important step in the continuing effort to connect Somerset and Johnstown to I-68, which is part of the continuing process to create an infrastructure to generate greater prosperity in our region,” Henry Cook, president of Somerset Trust Co., said before Monday night’s hearing.

Somerset County Commissioner John Vatavuk – who was one of several people who provided official testimony Monday night regarding their opinions on the project – agreed.

“We see a great economic development tool here – a great tool to get traffic through our area and through western Maryland,” he said.

Officials from the Maryland Department of Transportation’s State Highway Administration have narrowed the options for the project down to three finalists, nicknamed Alternatives 2, 3 and 4 at Monday’s hearing. (Alternative 1, making no changes at all, was also presented as a baseline for comparison.)

Alternative 2 proposed widening the existing alignment of Route 219 between the I-68 interchange and Old Salisbury Road by adding two 12-foot-wide travel lanes, one in each direction. Route 219, under this alternative, would transition back to a two-lane highway at Old Salisbury Road. Dedicated right-turn lanes would be maintained at the Pilot Travel Center in Grantsville and at the intersection of Route 219 and Route 40 Alternate.

Alternative 3 would involve adding four new 12-foot-wide travel lanes, two in each direction, to the existing alignment of Route 219.

Just north of the Pilot Travel Center, the existing Route 219 would transition into a two-lane roundabout that would provide access to the travel center – and to a new alignment of Route 219 that would bridge over Route 40 Alternate and continue approximately 1 mile north before rejoining the existing Route 219 at Old Salisbury Road, near the entrance to a proposed Casselman Farm industrial park.

Under this alternative, the existing I-68/Route 219 interchange would remain in use.

Alternative 4 would create a new interchange – replacing the existing intersection between I-68’s ramps and Route 219 with a two-lane roundabout – and a new road alignment that would loop around the Pilot Travel Center as a four-lane divided highway, cross over Route 40 Alternate on a bridge and continue approximately 1 mile north before rejoining the existing Route 219 at Old Salisbury Road.

Also under Alternative 4, the current exit ramp from I-68 westbound to Route 219 would be realigned and lengthened to tie into the new roundabout.

The proposed new alignment in Alternatives 3 and 4 would feature two 12-foot-wide travel lanes in each direction, separated by a raised median.

Project manager Barrett Kiedrowski said officials’ priorities for the project are “to support local and regional economic growth, efficient highway operations for development and community access.” All three alternatives, officials said, include inevitable impacts to historical sites, environmental areas and private property.

Hearing officer Tony Crawford said the project is already fully funded. In June 2015, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan announced $90 million in funding for design, right-of-way acquisition and construction to realign Route 219 between I-68 and the Maryland-Pennsylvania border.

Vatavuk testified that he and Cook – both members of the Greater Cumberland Committee’s North-South Appalachian Highway Coalition, he said – supported Alternative 4.

“We need a limited-access highway between here and Somerset,” Vatavuk said, noting that the 11-mile extension of Route 219 between Somerset and Meyersdale is scheduled to open in 2018.

When that section of highway opens, the only section of Route 219 between I-68 and the Pennsylvania-Maryland border that won’t be a four-lane limited-access highway will be the 5 miles between Meyersdale and Maryland, North-South Appalachian Highway Coalition coordinator David Moe said in August.

“If you get your section done,” he told Maryland officials, “we think it will be more incentive for the state of Pennsylvania to get the last 5 miles (between Meyersdale and the Maryland-Pennsylvania border) done … and we can all live happily ever after.”

Tom Sheehan of Garrett County urged officials during his testimony to consider the project’s economic context.

“If I have a preference, it’s for Alternative 2, but I came tonight to talk about the big picture, which I think has been overlooked,” Sheehan said.

That big picture, he said, was the Continental 1 corridor – a proposed 1,500-mile international freeway route from Toronto to Miami that, according to plans presented on the Continental 1 website, would run for part of its length along Route 219 in western Pennsylvania.

Continental 1 is intended to improve international trade, according to the project’s website – meaning that, if the route is completed, a significant portion of its traffic would be trucks hauling heavy loads, Sheehan said. The roundabout included in Alternatives 3 and 4, he argued, would slow such traffic significantly.

“I think Alternatives 3 and 4 are awful, terrible, bad and every other synonym I can think of because of that traffic circle idea,” Sheehan said. “Coming down out of Pennsylvania, it’s a freeway-style system that suddenly terminates in a traffic circle. What a terrible idea!”

Sheehan said he supported Alternative 2 because “it can be constructed in a short, finite period of time,” leaving the possibility of future expansion of Continental 1 open for the future.

Bill Orner of Grantsville, meanwhile, said he supported Alternative 4 for more personal reasons.

“Alternative 2 is going to take my house and part of my business,” he said. Alternative 3, he added, would place a roundabout right next to his house, causing a nuisance.

Officials said they will take the testimony they heard Monday night into consideration as they refine their plans and choose which of the three alternatives will be built. Final location and design approval is expected to come sometime this summer, with construction beginning sometime in 2018.

Some, however, are already looking to the future, considering the next piece of the puzzle. Cook noted that Route 219 will remain a two-lane road in Maryland between Old Salisbury Road and the Pennsylvania border, even after the project discussed Monday is completed.

“Obviously, the critical piece now – the Pennsylvania line (extension), the Meyersdale bypass – we have to find funding vehicles,” Cook said. “Hopefully, with these promises of infrastructure funding coming out of Washington, these projects get some attention.”

for more information, click here.

Bill to ban fracking to be introduced in Maryland

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — A measure to ban hydraulic fracturing for natural gas in Maryland is being introduced.

Del. David Fraser-Hidalgo is expected to introduce the measure on Thursday with more than 50 co-sponsors.

Sen. Robert Zirkin also has introduced a measure to ban the drilling technique known as fracking in the state.

A moratorium is set to expire in October.

Proponents say fracking will create jobs, but opponents say the pollution risks are too great.

for more information, click here.